Details

This poetic form is attributed to the Hungarian poet Balint Balassi (1554 - 1594), who was regarded as the first great lyricist of the Hungarian language. He wrote poems about religion, war and love.

While this form can be as many stanzas as the poet might choose to write, we will limit the poem for the sake of the contest to one or two stanzas. Each individual Balassi stanza is 9 lines in length and has a syllable count of 6-6-7-6-6-7-6-6-7, the rhyme for each stanza is aabccadda.

Here is an example of this form in only one stanza.

I AM NO LION
(A Balassi Poem)

In love and war, I am
No lion. More a lamb
bleating in the green meadow,
Waiting the farmers bell
To signal all is well.
And to his command I go.
Eyes straight ahead of me:
Theres nothing I need see.
In love and war Im mellow.

#
2008 Salvatore Buttaci

GOLD, SILVER, AND BRONZE AWARDS
DEADLINE: May 22, 2009

If you wish, you may write a two-stanza balassi,but you may enter only one poem in this contest. Please be sure to follow the directions carefully so no poems need be disqualified. Thank you.

Disclaimer

Helena is solely responsible for the content of this contest, including all promised prizes. Take any promises of large monetary awards with a grain of salt. Contact Helena if you have any further questions.